The days at Hogwarts

"Dad, you're back!" The sound of Draco's footsteps running down the stairs was a rare sound of life in the huge manor.

"Hmm." An inaudible sound came out of Lucius' nose.

The enthusiasm in Draco's eyes was extinguished by the cold nasal voice. He walked slowly from the seat beside Lucius to sit opposite him: "Are you going out tomorrow?"

His voice was much softer, with a cautious tone of inquiry. Since the holiday, Lucius had to go out every day and meet various people.

Lucius slowly opened his eyes, and the fatigue in his eyes completely disappeared after blinking a few times. He did not answer Draco's question, but instead questioned, "What are you looking through in the study all day? Don't tell me you are studying."

Draco was a little uneasy at his father's dignified tone: "I heard some news about the First Wizarding War at school, and came back to look up some information from that year."

"This is not something you should be curious about!" Lucius scolded.

"What are you yelling at? He's just a child!" A crisp voice came from under the candlestick. A tall, blonde, blue-eyed woman hurried over and interrupted Lucius's scolding.

Even though her son is already 12 years old, the woman still has a beautiful face, fair skin, and is well maintained.

Draco felt relaxed when he saw his mother coming to him. As long as she was there, Draco felt safe.

Narcissa sat next to Draco, put her hand on his shoulder, and complained to Lucius, "You didn't spend time with Draco during the holiday, and you started scolding people as soon as you came back. Look at you."

Facing his wife's scolding, Lucius's annoyance faded a little, and his tone calmed down: "I don't want him to get involved in these things too early. He is still too young. I am worried that he will idolize that person."

Narcissa was silent for a while after hearing this, and then she sighed imperceptibly: "If we leave him alone in Slytherin, he will become a fan of that person. It's time to let him know something."

Draco knew that "that person" they were talking about was Voldemort, but why did his parents reject his worship of the Dark Lord? His father was a famous Death Eater and a loyal follower of the Dark Lord.

"I don't worship Voldemort, I just want to know the truth of that year." Draco said anxiously.

Lucius looked at his son and was silent for a long time before he began to speak: "Draco, what do you think the Malfoy family is like in the eyes of outsiders?"

Although Draco didn't understand why his father asked this question, he answered without much thought: "Glorious, noble, and rich."

Glory came first, which made Lucius' last bit of luck disappear. He understood that he could not let Draco go on in such a muddle-headed way. He had to break his ignorance of pure-blood glory.

Voldemort's theory of bloodline was a deadly poison to the young wizard who was obsessed with the glory of pure-bloods.

Lucius leaned forward slightly and said in a grim tone: "No, we are bugs."

"Bugs?" Draco's eyes widened.

"In the eyes of Voldemort, Dumbledore and others, most people in the world are bugs. Being a bug is not scary, what is scary is that we are a fat bug."

Draco felt his mother's arm tremble slightly around his shoulders.

"We have to be vigilant against other insects sharing food, and we must also accept those big people, because we are too conspicuous, and they can see it at a glance."

Lucius couldn't stop talking and blurted out everything he didn't want to say.

"Being a servant of the Dark Lord, being a director of Hogwarts, being the money bag of the Ministry of Magic, and uniting those pure-blood idiots, is all for the continuation of the Malfoy family."

Lucius was unconsciously a little excited: "Do you understand?"

Draco felt that such a father was horrible, even more horrible than when he was angry and scolded him. He was unable to answer for a moment.

Lucius faced the child's innocent face and realized that he had said something wrong. He looked at the confused expression on Draco's face and waved his hand, telling him to go upstairs and play.

Draco left absentmindedly.

Narcissa watched Draco walk away and complained, "He's just a child. Why are you saying this?"

Lucius didn't want to talk about this matter any more. He sighed and said, "Didn't he ask for an invisibility cloak before? Buy him one."

"From what you said, I won't be able to spend enough time with my children for some time in the future?" Narcissa asked.

"I have a batch of things to deal with at home, and I still need to discuss the school matters."

The other things were easy to sell, but when he thought of the blank diary and the rumors about the return of the Dark Lord spread by those idiots, Lucius got a headache.

Narcissa took the cup from the table and poured him some tea. "Hasn't the Board of Directors always been giving in to Dumbledore? They can't interfere in the school's affairs anyway, so just give the power to the professors. Dumbledore won't have any selfish motives, and Professor Snape can still take care of Draco."

"The Board of Directors has not always given in to Dumbledore. The previous concessions were made after both sides had a fight. And the one leading the meeting this time is Professor McGonagall. If nothing unexpected happens, she will be the next headmaster. If she succeeds easily, she will kick the Board of Directors out soon after she takes over as headmaster. We cannot let this happen."

Lucius took the cup and put it down again, frowning, "Why is it cold?"

Narcissa's expression also turned ugly. "This damned thing Dobby has been slacking off all this time. I really should chop off his head!"

……

At the same time, in the library of the Crabbe family manor.

Vincent Crabbe was throwing books around one by one. He was trying to find some records about that era, but these words made him dizzy and he couldn't help but start to lose his temper.

His father, the old Crabbe with a big arm and a round waist and a muscular body, came over, looked at the messy library, and asked in surprise: "Reading?! Have you been controlled by someone using insanity?"

Vincent Crabbe didn't want to look for it himself, so he asked Crabbe Sr. directly, "How did our family fare when the Dark Lord was here?"

When talking about the Dark Lord, old Crabbe became a little angry. The news he spread everywhere was told to him by young Crabbe, and as a result, he was scolded by Malfoy for many days.

He couldn't help but kick Vincent's butt lightly with his foot: "Stay away from the Dark Lord's affairs. Over the years, more than half of our family's property has been donated, which is why we were not imprisoned in Azkaban."

"I'm not involved, I just want to ask." Vincent pushed away the book beside him and stood up. His tall and fat figure was almost a smaller version of old Crabbe.

Old Crabbe wanted to show off in front of his son: "Back then, we were afraid of the Dark Lord, but everyone else had to bend over when they saw us. No one dared to resist even if they were asked to lick my boots."

"What about Malfoy? What about the father of the savior Potter?" Vincent's eyes became eager.

"Ha, Malfoy is only a little closer to the Dark Lord than we are, but not as close as Bella and the others. They are about the same as us. As for Potter -" Old Crabbe smiled grimly, "When they see me, they will turn around and run away like a mouse seeing a cat."

Vincent Crabbe was full of longing for the era described by his father. As long as the Dark Lord returned, the humiliation and pain he had suffered would be returned a thousandfold to Malfoy and Potter.

He said encouragingly: "Why don't we bring the Dark Lord back?"

Old Crabbe shook his head dejectedly: "We are just ordinary servants. Doing unnecessary things will only bring trouble upon ourselves. Things like that should be done by Bella and the others."

"I heard that Bella has gone crazy. The day-to-day torture of the Dementors is a punishment more cruel than death." Old Crabbe shuddered unconsciously.

Old Crabbe paused. Even under Voldemort's command, he also had to worry about being killed because of his anger. That man was also a terrifying existence for the Death Eaters.

Although Malfoy always suppresses them, Lucius does have some skills and can bring them benefits. Although not as glorious as before, as a pure-blood family, it is already at the top of the wizarding world.

It is hard to say which is better or worse, the old times or now.

He kicked Vincent again: "This is not something you should be curious about."

After saying that, he turned around and left.

"Bella, Azkaban..." Crabbe's eyes were full of resentment.

……

In the aquarium, in the dolphin show hall.

The public show had just ended and the children in the exhibition hall were able to get close to the dolphins under the guidance of the keepers.

Near the shore, a smooth-skinned, adorable light gray dolphin swam in front of Loren, with its head above the water and its tail fin creating ripples underwater.

Loren scooped up a lump of ice with a small shovel and poured it into the dolphin's mouth. The little dolphin swallowed it in one gulp, and a burst of water vapor spurted out of its blowhole, like a person's satisfied sigh.

The little dolphin leaped gently and rubbed Loren's cheek with its smooth curves, making a happy "Ah-ah" sound.

Loren felt his face moist, and was infected by the joy of this little guy, so he scooped a few more shovels of ice to feed it.

Hermione's eyes sparkled, and she looked at him with envy, "I'll try! I'll try!"

She took a few steps forward, walked to Loren's position, took the small shovel and fed him the ice.

The little dolphin twisted its tail, swam to the side, staggered its position and stopped in front of Loren, floating in front of Loren excitedly and expectantly.

Hermione stood there in a daze. It would have been fine if he didn't want to eat, but he also looked down on her. It was so hurtful.

Loren couldn't help but chuckle, and his shoulders shrugged.

Chapter 148 Undercurrent

Hermione looked at the little dolphin and then at Loren, her little face full of grievance, as if the man and the dolphin had teamed up to bully her.

Loren felt that he would be beaten if he continued laughing, so he quickly stopped smiling and said seriously, "Maybe it was because I fed the little dolphin first, so it's familiar with my smell."

Without waiting for Hermione to think carefully about this flawed consolation, Loren took the initiative to stand beside Hermione, took her hand, and scooped a shovel of ice cubes to feed the dolphin.

This time the little dolphin swallowed it directly, gushing out satisfied water vapor from its blowhole and shaking its tail as it rose and fell on the water surface.

Loren looked at the little dolphin, and felt a sense of familiarity and intimacy in his heart, as if he could feel the dolphin's emotions. He took Hermione's hand, slowly moved closer to the dolphin's kiss, and then gently rubbed it.

The wet and cold touch spread from the palm of her hand to her heart. Hermione's eyes opened wide, and her hands and feet were so stiff that she dared not use any strength.

The little dolphin took the initiative to rub Hermione's hand again, and made a happy "ah ah" sound, which was ethereal and distant. The wonderful life and the pure heart of the sea elves conveyed beautiful emotions to them.

"It, it...me!" Hermione couldn't contain her excited smile, and her finger trembled with excitement as she pointed at the little dolphin.

The two people and the dolphin started playing like this. The little dolphin followed their hands in circles, turned over and splashed water, and bursts of laughter rang out, attracting the envy of other children and parents.

The Grangers and Bates stood not far away, watching the two children playing with the dolphins, and they were genuinely happy.

The keeper was a gentle woman with her blonde hair tied into a ponytail and wearing an aquarium hat on her head.

She praised: "There are very few children who can make dolphins so close, even closer than us keepers. Both children have pure hearts."

"Thank you for the compliment," Mr. and Mrs. Granger said politely.

"Oh! You are from the aquarium!" Bates suddenly became excited. "We want to ask if you have any suggestions about yachts. We want to take a trip on the sea."

"If we want to go to the sea..."

The keeper took them to the audience seats, and they began to share their experiences of going to the sea.

In the blind spot of their sight, the little dolphin suddenly spit a stream of water towards Loren and Hermione's faces.

The two were dumbfounded and stood there in a daze.

Loren felt the dolphin's emotions, watching it twist its body and swing its tail excitedly, as if inviting them to play together, and said hesitantly:

"It seems to think this is a game?"

Another stream of water came flying over and splashed all over Loren's face. Although it was sprayed from a dolphin's mouth and was very clean and had no peculiar smell, Loren felt that it was clearly an insult to him.

Unable to bear it any longer, Loren put his palms together into a spoon shape, and suddenly raised a wave of water to pour on the little dolphin, which made the little dolphin even more excited.

Loren and the dolphin were having a water fight, and Hermione soon joined in. The splashing sound was louder than the laughter.

Hermione tilted her head and faced backwards to avoid the splashes of water to prevent them from splashing into her eyes and blinding her. One hand in front of her kept stirring the surface of the water, and the water splashed in all directions.

Loren felt the waves hitting his face. He looked at the little dolphin, then at Hermione who was paddling with her head down excitedly. It was hard to believe that Hermione was not taking revenge on him.

……

The smile on Hermione's face did not fade until they walked out of the aquarium.

Hermione asked: "Why is my Patronus a dolphin, but I feel like you are closer to dolphins."

Loren looked around at the scenery on the street and said casually, "Maybe you saw it wrongly, and your patronus is actually the white whale."

"Only an idiot like you would admit your mistake!"

"Bounce back."

Hermione:? ? ?

Loren said seriously, "Stupid, it rebounds, so you are the stupid one."

Hermione rolled her eyes. "Childish."

"Bounce back."

……

The adults followed behind, talking about adult topics:

"Will anyone notice that their clothes are dry in no time?"

"It's summer, so it's not strange."

"No one will notice the two children."

"Magic is so convenient."

……

5 Privet Drive, Little Whinging.

Harry held a crystal ball in his hands, his brows knitted together, his eyes fixed on it.

The crystal ball was about the same size as his head, and gray-green mist was gradually covering the entire crystal ball, making it look a little gloomy.

"That's all for today." Sirius next to her handed over a bar of chocolate.